desert lily

a bittersweet
love story
of hope and expectation

A Publisher’s Choice

and

Soul-Making Literary First Prize Winner

San Francisco Bay Area National League of American Pen Women.

*****

HEAR

Desert Lily Author
Peter Pascaris

Speak about Desert Lily

And read excerpts

In an hour-long radio interview.

Simply click the play (forward arrow) button

On the player below.

The interview is from an Internet Radio Show called "Books and Beyond," a program of the American Council for the Blind.

Playback can be halted at anytime by clicking the pause button.

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 Poignant images suggest the stories of Nick and Amy Demetriou.

Nick and Amy's stories are hinted in the title, the haunting picture of a desert lily on the cover, and the opening line when Nick Demetriou says:

“Amy stumbles. I catch her arm and nearly fall with her.”

What is a desert lily?

Like all lilies, a desert lily has a season to flower and a period of dormancy when it withdraws into an onion-like bulb to remain buried until reawakening in another season.

But the desert lily is unique. To withstand the harsh environment, the bulb becomes buried under as much as two feet of sand and sometimes waits as long as twenty years before re-emerging.

Imagine you’ve fallen deeply in love with a desert lily. Imagine your sadness as you watch it fade, wither and retreat into the soil. Imagine your anticipation as you await the return of the flower you adore so much that you believe you can’t live without her.

Imagine, now, that you are the lily. To protect yourself, you hide deep in the sand, but your fear is so great that you sink deeper and deeper until you’ve
lost all hope of ever blooming again.

  ABOUT DESERT LILY

Have you or your loved one experienced:

* depression

* obsessive-compulsive disorder

* bipolar disorder

* panic and anxiety attacks

* other forms of mental illness?

 Desert Lily is the bittersweet story of one couple’s resolve to overcome:

· clinical depression

· societal stigma

· confusion about healthcare,
                                       shock treatments,
                                           insurance red tape,
                                              conflicting advice,
                                                   and prescription drugs

· sexual temptation

· marriage and family discord

· cancer

· dilemmas over end of life issues,
                                                 home caregiving,
                                                                and  hospice care

 Read how Nick and Amy Demetriou find relief and comfort from self help techniques offered in meetings with others who faced similar trials.